COUNTY UPS SERVICES TO THE WEST

As western communities such as Wellington and The Acreage swell with new residents, Palm Beach County is setting its sights on bulking up services in the region, with everything from a new $42 million government complex to parks and libraries.

The idea is to make services more centrally located for people in the western communities, so they don't have to drive to downtown West Palm Beach to apply for a building permit or talk with a county official. Money for the projects is coming from general county revenue.

"I'm really very, very happy with the amount that's being put into western communities," said County Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti, who represents western District 6. "If you look at the budget, more money has been spent there than anywhere else for capital improvements. And it was way overdue."

The Vista Center is the centerpiece of the effort. The 250,000-square-foot facility, at Okeechobee Boulevard and Jog Road west of West Palm Beach, is the new home to four major county departments: Engineering; Planning, Zoning and Building; Environmental Resources Management and the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

County workers have just finished moving in with only a few minor touch-ups remaining on the complex, said Audrey Wolf, director of county facilities.

Residents dealing with any of those agencies -- from getting a permit for a home addition, to submitting plans for environmentally sensitive land -- now go to the new site near Florida's Turnpike.

Another major project is a $10.2 million park opening in The Acreage, off Hamlin Boulevard. Named the County Pines Recreational Complex at Samuel Friedland Park, the 60-acre space will include eight baseball fields and three areas for soccer and football, as well as concessions and pavilions.

It's slated to open in November, according to county officials.

"It's great that it's happening out there," said The Acreage Landowners Association president Ron Wagner. "It's probably three to five years too late.

"I've been to a couple Acreage Athletic Association meetings, and they're chomping at the bit," he said, adding that 600 kids have signed up for tackle football. "They can't wait to get on those fields. They're going to be used like nobody's business."

Library expansion projects also are in the works. A major expansion at the county's Wellington's Branch Library finishes in February. The $6.2 million project renovates the 8,000-square-foot library and builds an extra 22,000 square feet.

Once the Wellington library re-opens, similar work will begin on the Royal Palm Beach Branch Library. That $5 million job will renovate the existing library, which is now the same size as Wellington's, and add an extra 12,000 square feet.

In The Acreage, county officials are planning a $2 million fire station, which will undergo construction in February and be completed in a year. A 15,000-square-foot, $5.5 million library also is slated for the community of about 45,000, sometime after 2007.

County Administrator Bob Weisman said the projects are a result not only of the residents already living in the communities, but in anticipation of thousands more in communities such as Callery-Judge Grove, where 10,000 homes are planned.

"Even in terms of the Callery-Judge-type growth, [The Acreage] library is intended to serve that. The park is intended to serve that. Something will be built there for sure," he said.

"We like to have development in place before we build facilities, to make sure it's sufficiently well used. Sometimes that creates a lag, where people say, 'Gee, why do I have to go so far?' You kind of have to wait for it to come to you."

Josh Hafenbrack can be reached at jhafenbrack@sun-sentinel.com or 561-228-5508.